ortalities are heaped
always over it. Had it no history to render the spot sacred, the beauty
of the monument alone would attract visitors, and I should have been
repaid for my visit. The French, who magnify the passion of love, or
pretend to do so, at all times above all others keep the history of
Abelard and Heloise fresh in their hearts.

One of the best monuments in Pere la Chaise, is that erected in memory
of Casimir Perier, prime minister in 1832. It consists of an excellent
statue of the statesman, placed upon a high and noble pedestal. There is
a path which winds round the foot of the slope, which is by far the most
beautiful in the cemetery. It is full of exquisite views, and is lined
with fine monuments. Ascending the hill west of the avenue, I soon was
among the tombs of the great. One of the first which struck my eye was
the column erected to the memory of viscount de Martignac, who is
celebrated for the defense of his old enemy, the Prince Polignac, at the
bar of the chamber of peers, after the 1830 revolution. Next to it, or
but a short distance from it, I saw the tomb of Volney, the duke Decres,
and the abbe Sicard, the celebrated director of the deaf and dumb school
of Paris, and whose fame is wide as the world. Many others follow, each
commemorating some great personage, but the majority of the names were
unfamiliar to me. Among those which were known, were those of the
Russian countess Demidoff. It is a beautiful temple of white marble, the
entablature supported by ten columns, under which is a sarcophagus with
the arms of the princes engraved upon it. Manuel, a distinguished orator
in the chamber of deputies, and General Foy, have splendid monuments.
Benjamin Constant has a plain, small tomb, as well as Marshal Ney.

West of these tombs lie the remains of marchioness de Beauharnais,
sister-in-law of the Empress Josephine. Moliere has also near to it a
fine monument; La Fontaine a cenotaph with two bas-reliefs in bronze,
illustrating two of his fables. Madame de Genlis has a tomb in this
quarter. Her remains were transported here by Louis Phillippe. Laplace,
the great astronomer, has a beautiful tomb of white marble. An obelisk
is surmounted by an urn, which is ornamented with a star encircled by
palm-branches. The marquis de Clermont has a fine monument--he who
gallantly threw himself between Louis XVI. and the mob, to save his
sovereign.

In one part of the cemetery I noticed many English tombs, of